The Victorian Aviary - The Later Days

In 1894, the town of Arieston built a fabulous aviary in the town square. It had the most beautiful exotic and tropical plants and innumerable birds. It remained just as popular into the early teens - then the need for scrap metal robbed the old aviary of sections of the metal bars. After a while, the plants were left to grow wild, and some of the birds left through the gaps in the walls.

Then in the 1920s, people started to visit again. Though the birds could come and go as they pleased now, most of them stayed for some reason. Betty and Douglas, two local school kids came to feed the macaws. Some evenings, the local pilot Dolores came for a lark, to say. It almost seems the every time she happens to stop by, Henri the librarian is waiting for a chat at the bench she likes. :)

Sometimes, a sparkly translucent figure in a Victorian dress holding an umbrella appears by the fountain at sunset. Most refer to this spirit as Ginger, and in mornings after a full moon, providing she appeared the night before, a white umbrella can be found sitting at the base of the small tree.

And that's the history of the Arieston Aviary!

The set consists of 373 pieces. It has 4 parrots and 6 birds. There are brass and tarnished brass colored bird ornamentation above the entryway. Other features include:

I built this because I love early 20th century architecture and aesthetics. There is a certain melancholy attached to abandoned aviaries and greenhouses, with the plants and wildlife set free again. This set would make a colorful addition to any LEGO town, and is bound to be loved by any nature lover and every antique architect enthusiast.

I hope you like my version of an aviary left to grow a bit wild, but still enjoyed by a new generation.

Please support if you like old architecture and the natural world! Thank you!